An enthusiastic holiday crowd of over 10,000 packed under - and on - the trees that surround the cricket ground of Shimoga's Jawaharlal Nehru College of Engineering, but what happened on the field of play didn't match their enthusiasm. The pitch was pancake flat and slow, the disheartened India A bowling a little listless, and the fielding poor. However, West Indies A balanced it out by throwing away wickets, not taking full advantage of three dropped catches, and failing to convert two half-centuries into hundreds. They ended at 283 for 6 with Kraigg Brathwaite and Assad Fudadin scoring fifties, and Leon Johnson and Chadwick Walton cushioning the blow of two quick wickets with a 68-run partnership for the sixth wicket.

The day began with pleasantries for West Indies A. First they won the toss on the benign pitch, and then as they waited to go out to bat they were treated to a rendition of "Rally Round the West Indies". Similarly hospitable bowling followed from Mohammed Shami and Zaheer Khan, who couldn't manage movement in the air. There wasn't going to be much off the pitch anyway. The openers got through the quicks' opening spell without having to play at many deliveries.

Against spin, though, Kieran Powell and captain Kirk Edwards lost their heads. Powell holed out to cow corner, and Edwards walked past one soon after he was dropped and hit a six off left-arm spinner Bhargav Bhatt. Narsinh Deonarine played across the line to Zaheer, and was given out lbw.

West Indies A had gone from 55 for 1 to 98 for 3, but Brathwaite wasn't about to lose his mind. He ground the runs out with the spinners - Bhatt and Parvez Rasool offered enough cutting and driving opportunities, sometimes off successive deliveries. Fudadin wasn't as alert as Bratwaite, but he was dropped by VA Jagadeesh and Mohammad Kaif on 12 and 27 at square gully and backward point. Abhishek Nayar and Shami were the unfortunate bowlers.

Either side of tea, the two added 117 runs. After the drops, the game settled into a lethargic little stroll with easy runs for the two. Zaheer bowled a third spell, but wasn't effective. After Zaheer was taken off after two overs in that spell, spin came on at both ends, and pretty much only a mistake was going to get any batsman out. The mistakes duly arrived. Fudadin fell lbw while sweeping Bhatt, and Brathwaite edged to the keeper while cutting Rasool.

The twin breakthrough didn't buoy India A enough to overcome conditions, and Johnson and Walton began to accumulate runs again. Both of them showed preference for clearing the infield, and kept managing to find vacant spaces to put the ball in. Johnson did that five times in one Rasool over, taking 20 off it. He ended the day unbeaten on 36.

India A didn't claim the new ball, but in the 88th over of the day Walton handed them fillip by trying to square-drive a wide ball and offering Uday Kaul an easy catch.

It is understandable nd accptble that the road for sehwag and gambhir ended.
But what is d problem wid Zak? How can one say suddenly that he failed miserably with one inngs? 20-5-66-1 frm a guy cmin out f an injury on a dead rubber is failure!? By which standards? b4 tis match Zak bowled in 5 Inngs after being dropped frm natinal team. The scorecard shows 4/17 vsCSK, 1/30 vs Kings XI,2/40 vs Gujarath,1/72 nd 5/79 vs M.Pradesh..Is this bad enuf to tell that he past his prime? Give him 1-2 series to prove himself and fitness then judje him. If u are thinkin f future pacers..B.Kumar,Mohit Sharma,I.Pandey,Jaydev Unadkat,Umesh Yadav,Varun Aaron if he regain fitness, are d future prospects

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 14:43 GMT

I wonder what Indians fans think about the A team selection. I check the squad and about 6 players are 30 and over. Not sure about that policy. It's good for WI youngsters though. They get to play against experienced campaigners

binu
on October 3, 2013, 14:24 GMT

@Nampally , Kerala pacer Sandeep Warrior is a good prospect but he is not getting enough chances even today he was not able to get a place in the eleven for South zone Duleep trophy

Ashok
on October 3, 2013, 14:05 GMT

@Alwyn Jose & @ Jose Pullimpatta: You both Pose an interesting Question - who are the Potential Indian seamers? I think B.Kumar is the best at the moment. All others are work in progress. Ishant Sharma has never learnt the basics of bowling to decent length- with continued barrage of short pitched balls which get thrashed. Yadev has dropped significantly in last 8 months & is on the way Out. The upcoming guys are I.Pandey & Unadkat. Mohit Sharma needs to work on this pace but is promising bowler. Dhawal Kulkarni is good but inconsistent. M. Shami & Vinay Kumar have been tried but failed. I liked the seamer from RR in IPL -Shukla. He has pace & hostility to attack the batsmen. So my list of 6 promising seamers Is: B.Kumar, I.Pandey, Shukla, Unadkat, Mohit Sharma & Kulkarni. Ishant Sharma should learn to bowl decent length & controlled direction as does Yadev.

Ashok
on October 3, 2013, 13:45 GMT

I have said this before & I will say it again. WI team has always been weak against spin,whilst it played the pace bowlers comfortably. It was proven again by Bhat capturing 7 wkts. with LH orthodox spin. Rahul Sharma or any RH leg spinner would have been an excellent choice but the Selectors do not seem to understand. It does not look like either Gambhir, Sehwag or ZAK will make it to the India Team again. Their days are over. They should hang up their spikes & bring them out for the local games only. Whilst Sehwag & ZAK are heading 35, Gambhir is not far behind. None of them or in great physical shape either & their form is poor. Try Jagadish & Rahul - are other youngsters fighting for an opening spot. One guy who always has performed well but never made it to the Indian team is Nayar. He has scored in every team below the National level this year. Why not give him a chance in the XI as an all rounder- a dependable bat + a useful seamer. Sad to see guys in form do not get selected.

Harry
on October 3, 2013, 13:42 GMT

It is good that Gambhir and Sehwag failed - this means more talented fit youngsters get to play at the international level while these two can play county and IPL where they belong. Pujara needs to stop worrying about getting into the ODI team and focus on tests for now. Otherwise he will go the S. Badrinath way.

I will also make a bold statement - Ind should plan on getting MSD away from test captaincy and groom a younger future leader. MSD is playing way too many games and we need him to keep his batting form. Pujara can be a good test captain. MSD can captain the ODI side and Raina can captain the T20 side.

santhosh
on October 3, 2013, 13:30 GMT

Thats the difference between UV and these guys....there is no commitment left in Gambhir and Sehwag....they should not be included in the playing 11....end of the road for them...

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 13:19 GMT

Jose to Jose: Mohit Sharma, Bhuvanesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, (Umesh Yadav (do you know why he is not in the current A team? They seem to be trying out different players in different tournaments. Umesh doesn't seem to think thru while bowling; but it can be developed, by a guide like ZAK), Mohamed Shami . All these are good investments. You can't compare raw materials/ WIP with Finished Goods which are almost crossing out of date. In a crunch, even Vinay Kumar is usable.

The key issue is building for future.

I had said this many a times. no Indian bowler is better than Zak, in thinking thru tactics to get the batsmen out. We should use him as pace/swing bowling coach ASAP. even language will not be a problem.

P.S. By the way where did you pick up names like Irfan, Awana, Mithun, et al, from my observations. I couldn't find them even with a microscope

kiran
on October 3, 2013, 13:14 GMT

I think Gambhir and Shewag go to the root level to get form and fitness back.

siddhartha
on October 3, 2013, 12:39 GMT

So Zak,Gambhir ,Sehwag all failed miserably.I think West Indies will recall K.Edwards into the team.He did pretty well in Indian pitches when he came here last time.Good to see Permaul and Miller performing well. I guess MIller will be in the test squad too.Will be interesting too see West Indies XI.

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 15:15 GMT

@siddhartha&@nampally

It is understandable nd accptble that the road for sehwag and gambhir ended.
But what is d problem wid Zak? How can one say suddenly that he failed miserably with one inngs? 20-5-66-1 frm a guy cmin out f an injury on a dead rubber is failure!? By which standards? b4 tis match Zak bowled in 5 Inngs after being dropped frm natinal team. The scorecard shows 4/17 vsCSK, 1/30 vs Kings XI,2/40 vs Gujarath,1/72 nd 5/79 vs M.Pradesh..Is this bad enuf to tell that he past his prime? Give him 1-2 series to prove himself and fitness then judje him. If u are thinkin f future pacers..B.Kumar,Mohit Sharma,I.Pandey,Jaydev Unadkat,Umesh Yadav,Varun Aaron if he regain fitness, are d future prospects

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 14:43 GMT

I wonder what Indians fans think about the A team selection. I check the squad and about 6 players are 30 and over. Not sure about that policy. It's good for WI youngsters though. They get to play against experienced campaigners

binu
on October 3, 2013, 14:24 GMT

@Nampally , Kerala pacer Sandeep Warrior is a good prospect but he is not getting enough chances even today he was not able to get a place in the eleven for South zone Duleep trophy

Ashok
on October 3, 2013, 14:05 GMT

@Alwyn Jose & @ Jose Pullimpatta: You both Pose an interesting Question - who are the Potential Indian seamers? I think B.Kumar is the best at the moment. All others are work in progress. Ishant Sharma has never learnt the basics of bowling to decent length- with continued barrage of short pitched balls which get thrashed. Yadev has dropped significantly in last 8 months & is on the way Out. The upcoming guys are I.Pandey & Unadkat. Mohit Sharma needs to work on this pace but is promising bowler. Dhawal Kulkarni is good but inconsistent. M. Shami & Vinay Kumar have been tried but failed. I liked the seamer from RR in IPL -Shukla. He has pace & hostility to attack the batsmen. So my list of 6 promising seamers Is: B.Kumar, I.Pandey, Shukla, Unadkat, Mohit Sharma & Kulkarni. Ishant Sharma should learn to bowl decent length & controlled direction as does Yadev.

Ashok
on October 3, 2013, 13:45 GMT

I have said this before & I will say it again. WI team has always been weak against spin,whilst it played the pace bowlers comfortably. It was proven again by Bhat capturing 7 wkts. with LH orthodox spin. Rahul Sharma or any RH leg spinner would have been an excellent choice but the Selectors do not seem to understand. It does not look like either Gambhir, Sehwag or ZAK will make it to the India Team again. Their days are over. They should hang up their spikes & bring them out for the local games only. Whilst Sehwag & ZAK are heading 35, Gambhir is not far behind. None of them or in great physical shape either & their form is poor. Try Jagadish & Rahul - are other youngsters fighting for an opening spot. One guy who always has performed well but never made it to the Indian team is Nayar. He has scored in every team below the National level this year. Why not give him a chance in the XI as an all rounder- a dependable bat + a useful seamer. Sad to see guys in form do not get selected.

Harry
on October 3, 2013, 13:42 GMT

It is good that Gambhir and Sehwag failed - this means more talented fit youngsters get to play at the international level while these two can play county and IPL where they belong. Pujara needs to stop worrying about getting into the ODI team and focus on tests for now. Otherwise he will go the S. Badrinath way.

I will also make a bold statement - Ind should plan on getting MSD away from test captaincy and groom a younger future leader. MSD is playing way too many games and we need him to keep his batting form. Pujara can be a good test captain. MSD can captain the ODI side and Raina can captain the T20 side.

santhosh
on October 3, 2013, 13:30 GMT

Thats the difference between UV and these guys....there is no commitment left in Gambhir and Sehwag....they should not be included in the playing 11....end of the road for them...

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 13:19 GMT

Jose to Jose: Mohit Sharma, Bhuvanesh Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, (Umesh Yadav (do you know why he is not in the current A team? They seem to be trying out different players in different tournaments. Umesh doesn't seem to think thru while bowling; but it can be developed, by a guide like ZAK), Mohamed Shami . All these are good investments. You can't compare raw materials/ WIP with Finished Goods which are almost crossing out of date. In a crunch, even Vinay Kumar is usable.

The key issue is building for future.

I had said this many a times. no Indian bowler is better than Zak, in thinking thru tactics to get the batsmen out. We should use him as pace/swing bowling coach ASAP. even language will not be a problem.

P.S. By the way where did you pick up names like Irfan, Awana, Mithun, et al, from my observations. I couldn't find them even with a microscope

kiran
on October 3, 2013, 13:14 GMT

I think Gambhir and Shewag go to the root level to get form and fitness back.

siddhartha
on October 3, 2013, 12:39 GMT

So Zak,Gambhir ,Sehwag all failed miserably.I think West Indies will recall K.Edwards into the team.He did pretty well in Indian pitches when he came here last time.Good to see Permaul and Miller performing well. I guess MIller will be in the test squad too.Will be interesting too see West Indies XI.

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 12:21 GMT

Jagadeesh had a splendid last Ranji season and I believe was among the top 3 batsmen in last season. He also had a pretty good List A season, and is in extremely good form. No wonder he is selected and fired right away with the 91 that he scored against NZ A, and here he is again with a fighting 79*. Having been in domestic circuit for a long time, he should be having a very good mature head on his shoulders.

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 12:21 GMT

Jagadeesh had a splendid last Ranji season and I believe was among the top 3 batsmen in last season. He also had a pretty good List A season, and is in extremely good form. No wonder he is selected and fired right away with the 91 that he scored against NZ A, and here he is again with a fighting 79*. Having been in domestic circuit for a long time, he should be having a very good mature head on his shoulders.

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 12:09 GMT

@ vipin, nice try mate, its obvious that u know exactly who he is or else u would never have asked that question. He is a keralite like us and its normal that we want him to do very well. I want him to go on and get a double hundred tomorrow so that selectors might consider him in case vijay fails in the future...go jaggu...!

VIPIN
on October 3, 2013, 11:16 GMT

who is this new batsman jagadeesh.in both the matched he has performed excellently well.there is something special at him.

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 10:47 GMT

@jose puliampatta

"Though Zak seems to have developed enough stamina (as gathered from the reports & photo), his bowling effectiveness is nowhere near his peak. Not at desirable level to deny any one of the half a dozen pacers knocking at the door".

who are all those half a dozen pacer?
Umesh Yadav? He was dropped for d upoming series vs aus.
Irfan Pathan injured.
Vinay Kumar? who was initially dropped vs zim nd included at final moment due to irfan's injury. I dont knw why he is in d team.
Abhimanyu Mithun ? not even cnsidrd for zim series.
Parwinder Awana? same case.don't have any good performance in credit.
Praveen Kumar?
Mohit Sharma?

Only mohit sharma deserves a place in d team.And Zak was dropped mainly becoz f d poor fitness. after dropped frm team he played ranji last season and took 5/79 nd in his second last match. and 2/40 in his last inng he bowled. after that he was injured and this is his first match after injury. If Zak is fully fit,he should be in d playing XI

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 10:20 GMT

Again and again the selectors are going back to Gambhir and Viru when they could have tried a few youngsters. These oldies are past their best and their attitude has also gone the wrong way.

John
on October 3, 2013, 10:09 GMT

Well, Pujara failed again, that too against WI A team in his own backyard. And there is no future for Sehwag and Gambhir in international cricket anymore as well.

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 8:52 GMT

@StraightHit,

Nice observation. I think the selectors are more concerned about Sehwag and Gambhir playing freely in this match so that they can regain their form. Hence they chose Pujara to captain. BTW another way to see is to check Pujara's leadership qualities. It is quite possible that Kohli (the current favorite) may lose his charm after 2-3 years like Sehwag (favorite in 2005/06) lost his charm during 2007 making MSD the captain.

Dummy4
on October 3, 2013, 8:52 GMT

A few observations:
1. I was among those, who had actively argued for giving chances to Rasool. This match shows, beyond doubt, that though he is a good raw materials, there are miles to go, even to catch up with even someone like Bhatt. Getting wickets is more important than economy; remember Kumble.

2. Though Zak seems to have developed enough stamina (as gathered from the reports & photo), his bowling effectiveness is nowhere near his peak. Not at desirable level to deny any one of the half a dozen pacers knocking at the door.Time has come to give way to a younger left-hander, to be developed.

3. Gambhir has proved that, we can fully concentrate on Dhawan as our left-handed opener for the future. Even the short county stint does not have made much of a difference.

4. Eagerly waiting to see, what Viru is going to do. He didn't bowl. Couldn't see his fielding, Waiting for his batting results. Let us wait and see. And, hope.

wasim
on October 3, 2013, 8:01 GMT

Why aren't the scores not being updated more often than once in 5 overs?Guess there are quite a few people who are following this game.

Android
on October 3, 2013, 6:46 GMT

Thanks to BCCI for hosting a 1st international test in shimoga.. we all are excited to watch india's batting..

Santosh
on October 3, 2013, 5:58 GMT

Pandey is being missed in this squad, he has been the best medium pacer these days and has picked wicket at crucial times even on spin friendly pitches though underbowled in the recent India A games..

Nicholas
on October 2, 2013, 20:06 GMT

Nikita Miller has got to be one of the coolest names in the world!!

Steve
on October 2, 2013, 18:50 GMT

Pujara is still a new comer to test cricket and a novice in short formats. Why is he burdened with captaincy. He should be allowed to concentrate on his batting for next 5/6 yrs before even being considered for captaincy role. It's captaincy ambitions that played havoc with the careers of Gambhir and Shewag who were otherwise contributing OK to the team earlier.

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 18:00 GMT

Keep going guys.....this should be a great series by completion of the test....

Abhijith
on October 2, 2013, 17:41 GMT

Thanks BCCI for giving an opportunity to Shimoga where i spent my childhood good to hear that 10000 turned up,saw Hubli hosting Ranji matces last year. KSCA should look to improve the facilities and install floodlights at Mysore ground to enable it to host RCB matches in IPL.....

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 15:33 GMT

It is such a pity that peopl don't understand th importance of hosting matches n venues where people turn up in thousands . The shivamogga ground is one of th best first class venues in the country , yes there is scope for improvement with regard to the pitch . But playing in front of a huge crowd is boost to the players and the development of the game .

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 14:25 GMT

Brathwaite scoring some good runs. I can see him taking over that Chanderpaul type role of keeping the innings together after he retires. He is still only 20 and already has international experience. One for the future. Still though the conversion of good starts to hundreds and big hundreds still haunt our players.

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 13:57 GMT

So many new stadiums have been built still BCCI has selected this ground out of nowhere. Such a waste of excellent infrastructure!

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 13:54 GMT

there is some problem is WI-A line up (similar to any of WI age groups and WI national team). they are not capable of making good starts to full advantage. if openers are good then middle order will collapse, just throw away wickets... and if bowlers perform well...then batsmen will not perform...

it is time to remove inconsistent players..

Carl
on October 2, 2013, 13:22 GMT

Good to see young Brathwaite scoring runs again - and Fudadin too. Both got runs in the first 'test', so this will only add to their resumé. The West Indies need a few batsmen who are willing to grind it out - not everybody is able to blast it out of the ground like Gayle, so these two should well be in consideration for the test series against India and New Zealand coming up. Unless "Sprint" was injured, can't think why Fidel Edwards was preferred over Delorn Johnson - a very strange decision...

Star
on October 2, 2013, 13:16 GMT

another day of uninspiring captaincy from Cheteswar Pujara. I really don't understand what the selectors see in Pujara to make him the captain of the 'A' team. Even when the team toured SA, he was pretty pathetic as a captain. I hope he's nto being considered as the future India captain.

No featured comments at the moment.

Star
on October 2, 2013, 13:16 GMT

another day of uninspiring captaincy from Cheteswar Pujara. I really don't understand what the selectors see in Pujara to make him the captain of the 'A' team. Even when the team toured SA, he was pretty pathetic as a captain. I hope he's nto being considered as the future India captain.

Carl
on October 2, 2013, 13:22 GMT

Good to see young Brathwaite scoring runs again - and Fudadin too. Both got runs in the first 'test', so this will only add to their resumé. The West Indies need a few batsmen who are willing to grind it out - not everybody is able to blast it out of the ground like Gayle, so these two should well be in consideration for the test series against India and New Zealand coming up. Unless "Sprint" was injured, can't think why Fidel Edwards was preferred over Delorn Johnson - a very strange decision...

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 13:54 GMT

there is some problem is WI-A line up (similar to any of WI age groups and WI national team). they are not capable of making good starts to full advantage. if openers are good then middle order will collapse, just throw away wickets... and if bowlers perform well...then batsmen will not perform...

it is time to remove inconsistent players..

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 13:57 GMT

So many new stadiums have been built still BCCI has selected this ground out of nowhere. Such a waste of excellent infrastructure!

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 14:25 GMT

Brathwaite scoring some good runs. I can see him taking over that Chanderpaul type role of keeping the innings together after he retires. He is still only 20 and already has international experience. One for the future. Still though the conversion of good starts to hundreds and big hundreds still haunt our players.

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 15:33 GMT

It is such a pity that peopl don't understand th importance of hosting matches n venues where people turn up in thousands . The shivamogga ground is one of th best first class venues in the country , yes there is scope for improvement with regard to the pitch . But playing in front of a huge crowd is boost to the players and the development of the game .

Abhijith
on October 2, 2013, 17:41 GMT

Thanks BCCI for giving an opportunity to Shimoga where i spent my childhood good to hear that 10000 turned up,saw Hubli hosting Ranji matces last year. KSCA should look to improve the facilities and install floodlights at Mysore ground to enable it to host RCB matches in IPL.....

Dummy4
on October 2, 2013, 18:00 GMT

Keep going guys.....this should be a great series by completion of the test....

Steve
on October 2, 2013, 18:50 GMT

Pujara is still a new comer to test cricket and a novice in short formats. Why is he burdened with captaincy. He should be allowed to concentrate on his batting for next 5/6 yrs before even being considered for captaincy role. It's captaincy ambitions that played havoc with the careers of Gambhir and Shewag who were otherwise contributing OK to the team earlier.

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